Garmin - Forerunner 955 Solar

I have it for more than 2 years now. I have the 955 solar, but the solar is not useful as it needs many hours to charge only a little. Only when really low on energy and no charger it might give you a few extra hours of life when placed in the sun. My main disappointment was the maps feature. I've tried planning bicycle routes on it but failed completely, it always errors out with no route to be found. I did preload some routes, but that's too much hassle in general. Pairing it with my phone using Google maps and the Garmin gmaps app is 1000x more user friendly though. The music feature together with the screen was the main selling point for me.

My 955 solar will easily last 48 hours and it’s 3 or 4 years old. 

Went from a Fitbit to a Garmin Forerunner 955 and haven’t looked back. It’s made me a better, faster runner.

I got a 955 in January and really like it. One of the main reasons I got it was for navigation on more remote trail runs so the map feature on the watch was important to me. If it wasn't for that the 255 would probably have done me.

There is Garmin Swim (IMHO essentially it is a ForeRunner, but swim has been put in focus; review here https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/10/garmin-openwater-review.html). However, modern Garmin watches are all able to track pool swim as well as gym workouts (you might have to set exercises later in the app if you want to track muscle groups affected). Essentially ForeRunner is for runners mostly, Forerunner 9xx is focused on triathlon, Fenix is mostly for outdoors - but again, all of them can do almost the same. I’d go with Fenix if budget allows.

Bro you can get a "used" (often actually still new in box) 955 on marketplace for like $300. The only complaint I have about mine is the barometer/elevation data is jacked up, but that doesn't seems to randomly occur with different garmin devices and isn't isolated to this one. The 965 is basically the 955 with OLED, which isn't a real upgrade to me. The 970 is marginally more advanced. But don't spend $500 on it, that would be crazy for a watch 2 generations behind.

Forerunner 55 for the absolute basics. Forerunner 165 is the cheapest with a AMOLED screen. Forerunner 255, 265, 955 and 965 are just discontinued. In my opinion 955 is the most value for money as it includes mapping. 965 is the same watch as the 955, but with an AMOLED screen. If you don’t need mapping, then go for the 265. It is the same as the 965, but without maps. So if you can find a 955 that would be your best bet in my opinion. Forerunner 570 and 970 introduce unnecessary features, such as microphone & speaker, sapphire glass, shiny metal bezels all of which add nothing to running but do increase the price.

Mine is the solar, and clearly the best choice TMM if you don’t care about the Amoled screen. MIP is clear all the time and better battery life What’s your quadrant model ? Mine is Linear Panel or Tronic

Mine is the solar, and clearly the best choice TMM if you don’t care about the Amoled screen. MIP is clear all the time and better battery life What’s your quadrant model ? Mine is Linear Panel or Tronic

I have the 955. It's a fantastic watch, and if you regularly run/hike off-road, the maps are invaluable. What I like are the maps and the training metrics. One thing, though, if you're just entering the garmin world: the battery estimations that garmin offers are calculated in perfect lab-like conditions. I get about 6/7 days out of my 955 (compared to the 15 days that garmin markets itself), but that's with about 10 to 12 hours of gps use.

I have a 955, love it. Still getting updates, and my experience has been pretty bug free with it.

The battery life is dependent on how much you use it. If you do 5h of activities a week vs 30h, the battery won’t last very long. When I did about 7h activities a week, best satellite settings, no music, it lasted about 8-9 days. Without using GPS only indoor activities, it would last longer, but yeah still dependent on how much activities. Atm I’m only doing ~3h of activities, all indoor so no GPS, and it lasts about 12 days. I still love it and my only worry is I don’t know what I would upgrade to in the future, nothing else is really comparably good. I’d like there to be a 995MIP or something.

I’d look for a sale on a 255/955, or second hand to keep costs down. But if you’re for sure committed to this, get a new one haha Having the training plans are so helpful for getting into running when you don’t know what to do.